The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education held the second of a series of public hearings around the state Wednesday in St. Louis, Mo., to collect feedback on several proposals for dealing with unaccredited school districts. St. Louis community members echoed many of the same sentiments that were expressed in Kansas City, Mo., last week, including an emphasis on local control.

A bill introduced this week in the Missouri General Assembly would require schools to notify parents when science coursework includes the theory of evolution, as well as give parents the option to remove their children from any part of that instruction. Rep. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Mo., proposed the bill.

Although Dave Trabert of the conservative Kansas Policy Institute and Kansas State Department of Education Commissioner Diane DeBacker can agree that math and reading tests indicate a growing educational gap between the state’s poor and wealthy students, they have very different opinions about how it should affect school finance. Since Kansas cut education funding 2009, the state’s national rankings in math and reading scores have declined.

Whether they are Republican or Democrat, many state legislators are searching for ways increase support for state-funded preschool programs, which some studies show have not only long term academic and social benefits for students, but also economic impacts.

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